This invention relates to the maintenance of correlation between the parts of a photographic processing order as it travels through the processing laboratory and, more specifically, relates to a method and apparatus for marking each of the elements of the order, namely, the customer envelope, the film, and the prints made from the film to provide an identification that can be checked from time to time to ensure that the order is returned to the correct customer after processing is completed.
In amateur photography most film processing is accomplished in large batch-proccessing labs. The film comes from the customer in an envelope with the customer's name on it. The film is separated from the envelope during processing and after processing the processed film and prints made from the film are reunited with the envelope to provide a completed order that can be returned to the customer. Critical need exists for maintaining a match between the film, prints, and envelope during and after processing to ensure that the film order is returned to the proper customer. In practice, the processing is done in batches with the film and envelopes maintained in physical sequence so that the processed film coming out of the processing steps should be in the same order in which it was introduced into the processing operation. Likewise, the envelopes from which the film was taken should be maintained in the same physical order while awaiting a reuniting with the film so that, if everything goes smoothly, the film and the envelopes can be quickly and easily matched. While the maintenance of the physical sequence goes a great way toward providing a match at the end of processing, unexpected events can occur during processing to change the physical order of the film or the envelopes and it is necessary to have some way of checking and, if necessary, reestablishing the correct sequence. The possibility of unreported or unnoticed human or machine errors occurring during handling of the film, the prints made from the film, or the order envelopes is great enough that the film and envelope must be checked for a match after processing and before return to the customer, at least on a statistical basis, to ensure that the processing is occurring in the correct order and that the right orders are being sent to the customer.
Previous schemes to provide such matching have provided for generating a number to be used as an identifying code and printing that number on the envelope and marking the film with the same number. Early methods included the placement of preprinted numbered tags on both the envelope and the film prior to processing so that those numbers could be read by an operator at the end of procesing to check the match. In present methods, the numbers are sometimes provided in machine-readable form so that the checking can be done automatically by machine, rather than by a human operator, at least in the first instance.
In the batch processing of film, for example, 35 mm film, the individual filmstrips are joined together by splice tape into a continuous reel prior to and during processing. A current method of identification includes using a splice tape having preprinted sequential numbers placed on the splice tape when it is manufactured so that the splice tape can then be used to join successive filmstrips. The same number is then read by a reader and printed on the envelope at the beginning of processing. Both of the above methods have the disadvantage of adding a new number to the operation that has no correlation to anything that existed previously and, more importantly, has no correlation to anything that the customer has knowledge of.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for checking the correlation between film and envelope and prints of a customer order.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an identification system that uses a number for the identification that already exists and is at least related to the information in the possession of the customer.